91Ö±²¥

The Center for Open Science (COS) has announced changes to OSF (Open Science Framework), which will affect how researchers use the platform for project management, collaboration, file storage, and sharing.

OSF has been a valuable tool for many researchers at The University of Manchester, supporting preregistration, collaboration, and transparent research workflows. While some core features will continue, the changes mean that researchers currently using OSF as an active project workspace will need to review their workflows and consider alternative solutions for some activities.

What’s changing?

COS is refocusing OSF on its strengths in preregistration and research transparency. As part of this transition:

• From 16 November 2026, researchers will no longer be able to create new OSF Projects or new child components within existing projects.
• From 19 February 2027, all existing OSF Projects, both public and private, will become read-only.
• Existing public projects, files, links and DOIs will remain accessible, discoverable and downloadable.
• OSF will continue to support Registrations (pre-registration) and Preprints.

Researchers who use OSF primarily for preregistration and preprint sharing should experience little change. However, those using OSF for project collaboration, version control, file management, or storage of active research materials will need to consider alternative arrangements before projects become read-only.

What does this mean for 91Ö±²¥ researchers?

The Office for Open Research established institutional membership with OSF to support preregistration infrastructure and open, reproducible research at 91Ö±²¥. We recognise that many researchers also use OSF as a collaborative project space, and we understand that these changes may affect established workflows.

Following consideration of the announced changes and discussions with OSF, we have taken the decision to maintain the University's institutional OSF subscription for the next year. This will ensure continued institutional support for researchers while the transition takes place and while we assess how the revised platform is used across the University.

During this period, we will review usage patterns, gather feedback from researchers, and evaluate the benefits of the adapted OSF service to inform future subscription decisions.

Planning for the transition

Researchers currently using OSF Projects should consider reviewing:

• Whether any active projects will require ongoing editing or updates after February 2027.
• How project materials, data, code, documentation, and other outputs are currently managed.
• Whether any content stored in private OSF Projects may need to be moved to alternative systems before future changes to private project storage are introduced. COS has indicated that additional changes affecting private projects may be considered in the future, with advance notice provided.

As researchers evaluate their next steps, it is important to ensure that any alternative solutions are appropriate for the specific nature of their project and take into account considerations such as:

• Data protection and information governance requirements.
• Research ethics obligations.
• Intellectual property and contractual arrangements.
• Funder and publisher requirements.
• Long-term preservation and access needs.
• Collaboration requirements with internal and external partners.

Because these considerations vary considerably between projects and disciplines, there is no single replacement workflow or platform that will be suitable in every case.

Support available

If you currently use OSF Projects and would like advice on planning for these changes, please in the Office for Open Research. We can discuss your requirements and help identify appropriate options based on the context of your research and relevant University policies and guidance.

For full details of the changes, timelines, FAQs and transition guidance, please visit the Center for Open Science's dedicated OSF changes webpage: .

More information

• Read COS’ to OSF, including .
• You can also read about the for these changes.
• Read our on OSF.
• Find out more about other .
• Check out our  to access dozens of systems that we've developed, subscribed to, support or recommend, and discover the benefits that each tool can offer.

 Lucy May, Open Research Manager